Concerta Grotesque 54 mg was written for Ensemble Klang.

Concerta® 54 mg is the commercial name for a rather high dosage of extended-release methylphenidate, a stimulant medication prescribed for ADHD treatment. This piece serves as a personal indictment of the medication’s lingering effects on creativity. Drawing from the composer’s own experience with this prescription, taken for a brief period but resulting in suppressed creative impulses that persisted for eight years during a crucial period of artistic development, the work explores themes of pharmaceutical intervention and its lasting unintended consequences on artistic expression.

The music unfolds through stream-of-consciousness composition, allowing musical ideas to emerge organically without predetermined structural constraints. The piece employs relentless repetitive elements that mirror the medication’s sustained-release mechanism.